The guest residence courtyard was already bustling.
Dozens of Zhao Family disciples had gathered long before the sun rose, forming loose circles around the open stone training ground. White-haired youths in sword robes stood, their arms folded across their chests, while several elders watched from the shaded pavilions with the calm detachnt of those expecting a show.
At the very center, three young n and one young woman stood.
They all carried themselves with the easy confidence of those who had always known power.
The mont Lin Yi stepped out, a wave of murmurs rose through the crowd.
"He actually ca."
"So, that’s the outsider."
"Only Level 230?"
"His aura feels steady, though."
"Still too low, by far."
Lei Bao, invisible within the blade, whispered into Lin Yi’s mind.
"Little one, quite the audience. Humiliate carefully."
Lin Yi paid him no mind, simply walking to the center of the courtyard.
The four Zhao disciples there openly assessed him.
The tallest of them stepped forward first. He had sharp features, his white hair tied high behind him, and a curved saber rested at his waist.
"Zhao Ming," he introduced himself. "Level 238."
His gaze swept over Lin Yi, cool and appraising.
"I heard Yuexin-jie brought you back personally. I was curious to see what kind of man required her escort."
Lin Yi replied evenly, his voice calm.
"Now you’ve seen ."
Several nearby disciples snorted, a ripple of amusent passing through them.
Zhao Ming’s eyes narrowed slightly.
"You speak boldly for soone standing on borrowed ground."
Before Lin Yi could answer, the young woman standing beside Zhao Ming stepped forward.
She wore fitted light armor and had twin short blades at her back.
"Zhao Lian," she said. "Level 236."
Unlike Zhao Ming, her tone held no obvious hostility, only a sharp, almost intellectual curiosity.
"Did Elder Yuexin truly exchange three moves with you?"
"She did," Lin Yi answered imdiately.
"And you survived?" She couldn’t believe the thought of it. Soone surviving three strikes from the sword genius like Zhao Yuexin.
Her eyes brightened a touch, "Interesting."
The third youth was broad-shouldered, carrying a giant hamr casually over one shoulder.
"Zhao Ren. Level 241."
He grinned openly, a wide, almost boyish smile.
"I don’t care who escorted you. I just want to know if you can take a hit."
The fourth one remained silent for a mont. He looked the youngest of the group, slender and composed, with a narrow straight sword at his waist.
After a slight pause, he spoke.
"Zhao Chen. Level 239."
His gaze was easily the sharpest of the four, piercing and intense.
"If you are weak, you should leave now, before you embarrass Elder Yuexin further."
Lin Yi finally looked across all of them, eting each gaze in turn.
"So, this is the Zhao Family’s morning welco?"
Zhao Ming snorted, a short, dismissive sound.
"This is courtesy."
Lin Yi simply nodded.
"Then Blue Star and Tianyuan Star must define courtesy differently."
A ripple of laughter, quickly suppressed, spread through the watching crowd.
Zhao Ming’s face darkened, a shadow passing over his features.
He stepped forward, closing the distance.
"One move. If you cannot withstand one move, you can crawl back into the guest hall."
Lin Yi unsheathed the Thunder Surge Blade halfway, blue sparks flickering faintly along its edge.
"One move from you," he said, his voice calm and steady. "One move from ."
The courtyard quieted instantly, the earlier murmurs completely gone.
Lei Bao nearly exploded with glee, his voice crackling with excitent.
"Excellent. Excellent. This is precisely how mornings should begin."
Zhao Ming drew his saber in a sudden flash of movent.
Spiritual power surged around him, a palpable force.
His cultivation at Level 238 was undeniably genuine. Unlike the academy opponents Lin Yi had faced on Blue Star, Zhao Ming’s aura was refined, stable, and honed through years of abundant resources and specialized inheritance training.
He moved first, a blur of motion.
The saber split the air in a descending crescent, carrying with it a dense, whistling wind qi.
"Falling Gale Slash!"
Lin Yi did not retreat.
He took a single step.
Boundless Step.
His body simply vanished from the saber’s path, reappearing instantly at Zhao Ming’s flank.
The Thunder Surge Blade moved in one clean, horizontal arc.
It was too fast.
Zhao Ming barely reacted in ti, managing only to raise his own saber defensively.
Clang!
The impact blasted him sideways across the courtyard. He slid for thirty ters, leaving faint trails on the stone, before crashing heavily into a stone pillar.
Silence descended once more.
Then, a ragged cough broke the stillness.
Zhao Ming pushed himself up with trembling arms, his face pale, his saber arm numb and throbbing.
One exchange.
He had been defeated.
The crowd erupted, the earlier suppressed murmurs turning into shocked exclamations.
"He won instantly!"
"Zhao Ming couldn’t even track that movent!"
"What kind of technique was that?"
"His speed surpassed Level 238!"
Zhao Lian’s expression sharpened, her curiosity intensifying.
Zhao Ren’s grin widened, no longer rely boyish, but dangerously eager.
Zhao Chen narrowed his eyes, his sharp gaze fixed on Lin Yi.
Lin Yi sheathed the blade halfway again.
"Next."
There was no arrogance in his tone, only a simple statent of fact.
Zhao Ren then roared with laughter, a booming sound, and jumped into the arena.
"Good! My turn!"
He slamd his giant hamr into the ground, the impact loud and jarring.
Stone shattered outwards from the point of impact.
The pressure of his Level 241 cultivation spread outward, heavy and undeniable.
"I don’t use fancy techniques," Zhao Ren declared, his voice echoing. "I just hit things until they break."
Then, Zhao Ren charged like a wild beast, each powerful step cracking the stone floor beneath him.
Lin Yi remained perfectly still until the hamr descended, a blur of crushing force.
At the very final instant, he raised one hand.
Titan Grip activated.
His palm t and caught the hamr shaft.
BOOM!
Shockwaves blasted outward from the collision point, visible ripples in the air.
Dust rose, obscuring them both for a mont.
When the dust began to clear, Lin Yi stood unmoved, one hand still gripping the massive weapon.
Zhao Ren’s eyes bulged, wide with disbelief.
Lin Yi twisted, a subtle shift of his body.
The giant hamr was wrenched from Zhao Ren’s hands and flew across the courtyard, embedding itself upside down in a distant wall with a thud.
Then Lin Yi delivered a single kick to Zhao Ren’s chest.
Zhao Ren flew backward, a surprised grunt escaping him, and landed with a splash in a decorative fountain.
Water exploded skyward in a geyser.
The courtyard went deathly quiet once again, all sounds abruptly ceased.
Lei Bao scread with laughter, pure delight in his voice.
"Little one! You stole the man’s hamr before beating him with empty hands! Wonderful manners!"
Zhao Lian slowly exhaled, a soft sound.
"Now I understand why Elder Yuexin brought him."
Zhao Chen stepped forward at last, his hand resting lightly on the hilt of his straight sword.
"No more gas," he said quietly, his voice carrying clearly in the sudden silence.
The crowd imdiately beca tense, a palpable shift in the air.
Soone whispered:
"Zhao Chen is the strongest among them."
"He has already touched Level 240 sword intent."
"He’s serious now."
Lin Yi looked at him.
Finally, soone who might be worth his attention.
Before either of them could move, a cold female voice descended from above, cutting through the tension.
"Enough."
Everyone froze, turning their heads upwards.
Zhao Yuexin stood atop the courtyard gate, her white robes moving gently in the morning wind.
Her gaze swept across the gathered youths, cool and unimpressed.
"You call this testing?"
No one dared to answer.
She looked at Zhao Ming in the distance, slowly recovering, at Zhao Ren, dripping wet in the fountain, at Zhao Chen standing rigidly, and at Zhao Lian, who was trying very hard not to smile.
"Embarrassing."
Then her eyes landed squarely on Lin Yi.
"You."
"Yes?"
"Co with ."
Lin Yi blinked once, a slight pause.
"For what?"
"The mountain qualification grounds."
The courtyard exploded into a fresh wave of murmurs, louder and more urgent than before.
Zhao Chen’s face visibly changed, a flicker of surprise passing over it.
Zhao Lian stared, her earlier curiosity now replaced by open astonishnt.
Even so of the elders observing from the pavilions stood up, their detached calm dissolving.
Lin Yi looked at her steadily, his expression unreadable.
"You an, now?"
Zhao Yuexin’s expression did not change, remaining perfectly still.
"If you need more ti, I can lower my opinion of you further."
Lei Bao crackled wildly, a surge of amusent.
"Little one, she insults magnificently."
Lin Yi drew a breath, a subtle intake of air, and stepped forward.
"No need."
He t her gaze, his own firm.
"Lead the way."
Zhao Yuexin turned without another word and vanished into the inner estate, a fleeting glimpse of white robes.
Lin Yi followed, his footsteps calm and even.
Behind them, the stunned Zhao Family disciples could only watch as the outsider who had arrived just yesterday was already being taken to the mountain qualification grounds.
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